Crumble
by keep.the.hope
Summary: What are you supposed to do when the world falls on your shoulders? When Teresa wakes up with only the intent of death on her mind, Chancellor Paige and Ted find a way to change that. They recruit her for a plan that seems doomed from the start. But where are they sending her? Paradise, a place that holds her greatest friends and worst enemies. Just remember: WICKED is good.
1. Prologue

Her pale fingers twitched. _Impossible,_ they would have said. But it was not. Teresa Agnes, despite everything, was not dead. Severely injured, yes. But dead? Not quite. Someone with that much fire wouldn't burn out that easy. Chancellor Paige made sure of that.

"You've done well, Miss Agnes." Teresa tried to locate the source of the voice. It was too dark. Her head hurt. How did she get there? "Too well to let the Right Arm finish you off just like that." Now Teresa was confused. She knew that voice. It was the voice of a wise woman, one with white-blond hair and endlessly gray eyes. "I knew you'd do anything for Thomas. I knew you'd push him out of the way. It was such a shame you were almost flattened like a pancake." Teresa could almost hear the smile on Chancellor Paige's face. It was pouring off in rays.

Suddenly Teresa's sight was no longer rendered. She watched as the Chancellor dropped the black sheet into a nearby trash can. Illuminated green eyes bore into her soul. Teresa hesitantly stared at the face that was attached to those curious eyes. Instead of dwelling on it, she looked back at Chancellor Paige, who was now making her way back over.

"My dear, you must have a million questions. But you need to rest before we can give you those answers. I knew you had to be saved from—"

"Who said I _wanted_ to be saved?" The dryness of her mouth made Teresa think of asking for water. She cleared her throat, dislodging the thought immediately. "Did it occur to you that maybe I couldn't take it any longer? That maybe I couldn't live with _him_ hating me?" Both the Chancellor and the boy with the green eyes noticed how Teresa refused to call him Thomas. "Maybe I didn't want him to tell me that he'd chosen her. I knew he would never pick me over her. She never lied to him, betrayed him," Teresa continued. The green eyed boy was beginning to question just how sane this dark haired girl was. "That . . ." Her voice faltered. "That I wanted to eliminate the probability of the heartache that he . . . that _Thomas_ would have caused." No one spoke for several minutes. "Well?" she burst out in a hysterical tone. "Did you ever think about what I wanted?" Her eyes were glazed over with a craze they thought they'd never see on her.

"Teresa, you weren't dead when we found you. You had a small pulse, so we took the liberty of saving your life. We didn't bring you back from the dead, if that's what you were thinking. You need to understand that I wasn't going to let you die like that. If you're going to die, you're going to die of natural causes, like you should. You're Immune. And you said it yourself." The Chancellor paused then, making Teresa's head spin. Why couldn't she just get on with it? Finally she cleared her throat. "Like you've been saying all along. WICKED is good." Chancellor Paige left Teresa alone with the boy who had yet to introduce himself.

"Who are you?" The words didn't feel like her own. Teresa wondered when she had become so distrustful.

The boy wasn't fazed at all. "My name Theodore Edgecomb, but I'd prefer if you called me Ted. During this time, I am your mouthpiece. You will say what I tell you to, and I promise you will succeed in everything you wish. But before we begin, you need time to think some things over, and you need to decide if you want to help. Trust me when I tell you this: We are on your side. Most of the staff contracted the Flare and went bonkers. We are the remaining Immune, and we need to stick together." Then Ted was gone too. Teresa was completely alone this time.

Teresa figured she should take Ted's advice and rest. There wasn't much else she _could_ do. She wasn't even sure she was strong enough to get up from the cold table.

Soon she was drifting, and the words of the Chancellor were a dull lullaby in the back of her mind.

_WICKED is good. _

And somehow she was sure she believed them. Even with all the pain they'd caused her, Teresa could only use those words to describe World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department.

Now it was her own voice, replacing the words of Chancellor Paige's in her head.

"WICKED is good."

She was out like a light.


	2. Chapter 1: Pity

When Teresa awoke to a beeping noise, she immediately thought of the bombs. The bombs that shook the Maze. The bombs that rocked the ceiling. The bombs that were supposed to kill her.

It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it was something that Teresa came to accept in her life. There was never going to be any good, only logic. She figured logic was her only option, now that everything she could have hoped for fell to pieces. Stick to the facts, and you'll be able to lead a happy life.

The beeping continued, though, and the noise picked up when Teresa's heart did. Ted was beside her, examining something on a clipboard. He was frowning, almost like he had a sour taste in his mouth that he couldn't possibly get rid of. He scribbled something on the paper, glancing up from his task only once. Ted noticed Teresa staring, so he clicked his pen and put his focus on her.

"You're doing very well, but I'm afraid your lower body suffered quite a deal in the explosions," Ted stated evenly. Teresa frowned. What on earth was he talking about? Of course she was injured; she was as good as dead until they found her! "It will take some time for you to be able to walk again. Until then, we will help you on your road to recovery. You suffered no brain damage—miraculously—and won't need any reminding of anything. However, the explosions caused you much trauma, and your brain nearly shut down your heart. Because of this, we will be taking your blood pressure regularly. This is a vital part of your health, and if you wish to recover I suggest you do as you're told. Do you have any questions?" Ted had finished speaking, but Teresa had barely processed any of what he was saying.

"I can't walk?" was the first thing that came from her chapped lips. Ted sighed.

"Teresa, do you know how long you've been asleep?" When she shook her head, Ted filled her in. "Two months, Teresa. We've been crossing our fingers for two months, hoping for the day your blue eyes would open again—_if_ they ever opened again. If you had woken up sooner—"

"Where did the Flat Trans take them?" It seemed like an odd question to ask, seeming to come out of nowhere.

"Excuse me?" Ted spluttered. Teresa merely blinked at him.

"You heard me. Where are the Gladers and all the other Munies that we rescued? They didn't vanish into thin air," she scoffed, rolling her eyes. Ted narrowed his eyes at her.

"You cannot attain that information unless you agree to help us," Ted said icily. Teresa pondered it for a few minutes. She wasn't sure what WICKED wanted of her, but she did want to know where Thomas and the others were. That's what made up her mind. She couldn't stand living in a world where Thomas still hated her.

"Alright," she agreed. Ted smiled gleefully. He'd gotten Teresa on their side. "But only if it doesn't involve me hurting anyone." She held a warning finger at him.

"Excellent," Ted said, unable to keep the smile off his face any longer. "And no worries." He waved a hand at Teresa. "You're simply going to be monitoring all the Immunes that went through the Flat Trans you were speaking of."

"I get to see them?" she said hopefully. She had never considered that the Chancellor and Ted wanted her to go to the _real_ safe haven. Teresa couldn't contain her excitement.

"Of course," Ted chuckled good-naturedly. "What did you expect? For us to put you through more Trials?" Teresa's smile faded significantly. She was scared to admit that that's what she thought they _had_ brought her back for. WICKED was known for initiating disastrous projects. Ted noticed Teresa's expression and frowned. "The Creators all had the Flare. They're the ones that made you and Thomas and Aris believe what you were doing was right. But I promise that's all over now. There's nothing left for you to be afraid of." Ted placed a gentle hand on her knee. Teresa nodded; she knew that Ted was honest.

"So where are they?" she mumbled, eyes downcast. Ted sighed.

"I did say that I would tell you where all your Immune friends are now." Ted reached over to a table to grab a binder. He handed it to Teresa. "They're in Iceland."

Teresa's face wore a quizzical expression. "The name sounds perpetually deceiving," she confessed. Ted nodded.

"Oh, but believe me, Iceland is a beautiful paradise. It was also one of the only places left that had not been infected by the Flare."

"I suppose it can't be that large. The Flare spread rather quickly," Teresa said, flipping through the pictures of Iceland in the binder. "What's this?" She pointed to a vast body of water, so pure it seemed artificial.

"That?" Ted wrinkled his nose at what Teresa was suddenly so fascinated with. "That's the Blue Lagoon. People used to swim in it all the time—that is, until the whole place was deserted." Teresa cocked her head to the side in wonder. What was so special about it? Shaking the thought aside, Teresa finally took a look at her surroundings.

"Where are we?" Teresa said in wonder.

"Welcome to the Catacombs, Teresa." The voice of the Chancellor startled her. "These are the underground tunnels that the Creators of WICKED totally forgot about. Today they prove to serve as a great shelter." Chancellor Paige wore a proud smile. Teresa realized that this was all they had left. Somehow they were thriving in the tunnels. It made Teresa's head spin thinking about all these secrets that she had forgotten. The Swipe was supposed to be completely removed. Now she wondered just how much of her past WICKED let her remember.

"How did you know to come here?" Teresa's own words snapped her out of her reverie.

"We have been harboring a resistance of Immunes down here for years. Who do you think disposed of all those guards in order for you to escape?" The Chancellor smiled. This was something she wanted to be in charge of.

Teresa grinned at Chancellor Paige's words. So Teresa really _could_ trust them. They wanted to help her.

"Ava, we have to get started if this is ever going to work," Ted interrupted, clearing his throat. The Chancellor nodded. She turned back to Teresa's expectant face.

"This plan we've brought you in on is going to take time, Teresa. You need to be able to walk if we send you to Iceland. You can't exactly drag yourself this way and that," Chancellor Paige started, waving her hands wildly. "Your physical therapy will take at least three months. If you're not completely healed, all the better. The other Immunes will be able to see that you are in no position to hurt them. It might get you just enough pity for your friends to trust you again. We need them to trust you for this to work. Do you think you can accomplish that?" She raised an eyebrow at Teresa. Teresa nodded, envy crawling through her core. She had always wanted to raise an eyebrow like that. It would make her even more snarky and sarcastic.

"I don't want their pity, though," Teresa confessed. Ted sighed.

"Teresa, it might be the only way they'll trust you. They're stubborn people. They've had a lot stolen from them. They won't want to believe you. I'm afraid pity is our best option." Ted shrugged apologetically. Teresa nodded again. She figured she didn't have another choice.

Chancellor Paige cleared her throat. "However, we haven't even mentioned step one yet." Teresa was growing confused. There was more than just healing?

"What's that?" Teresa voiced her thoughts aloud. She wanted to know just what the Chancellor and Ted were up to.

Ted drew in a big breath. "We need to get you in Thomas's head again."


End file.
